Leven Wilson Shepherd (1799 - 1862)

Born 19 Oct 1799 in Loudoun County, Virginia, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Katharine (Eversole) Shepherd — married 3 Dec 1823 in Leesburg, Loudoun, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 5 Sep 1862 at age 62 in Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: C Ruppel [send private message] and Erin Cole [send private message]

Biography

Leven Wilson Shepherd was born October 19, 1799, in Loudoun County, Virginia, the son of Charles Shepherd and Eleanor Wilson. ^[1]

Leven married Catharine (Katharine) "Kitty" Eversole on December 9, 1823 in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia. ^[2]

After they were married, they may have resided for a brief time in Charlottesville, Virginia where their oldest child and daughter, Virginia Anne Shepherd was born in 1824. Or perhaps Katharine stayed with family and friends in Charlottesville for the birth of Virginia.^[3]

In the spring of 1825, Leven and Katharine, with their daughter Virginia Anne, moved from Leesburg, Virginia to Huntsville, Alabama. Leven's father, Charles Shepherd, died in 1809 when he was 9 years old, leaving his estate in the hands of a guardian. The guardian "stole" the money with which the sons were supposed to obtain their education. ^[4] As a result, the sons were forced to learn a trade. Leven choose carpentering, and his choice of trade brought Leven and his family to Huntsvile because of the opportunity to build homes in the rapidly growing state of Alabama. While Leven established his trade, he purchased a lot to build his home. His family moved into this house just before their son Charles was born in 1828. Leven built many of the finer constructed home around Huntsville, and he was recognized as an unusually good mathematician, often aiding other carpenters with their calculations.

Leven Wilson Shepherd and Katharine Eversole had five children:
1. Virginia Anne Shepherd
2. Charles O. Shepherd
3. John Wesley Shepherd
4. Leven Wilson Shepherd
5. Sally Elizabeth "Bettie" Shepherd

Levin Shepherd died September 5, 1862, in Huntsville, Alabama. He is buried in Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville.^[5]

Research Notes

Transcription of Family Bible Records Shepherd-Hough

The following is a transcription of the handwritten notes, located in the Thomas Balch Library, of original bible pages. NOTE: the handwritten notes are missing son Leven Wilson Shepherd. Gressley-41 18:43, 28 November 2021 (UTC) ^[6]

Page 75

Charles Shepherd and Eleanor Wilson
were married "about 1784"
1. Elizabeth Shepherd dau. of C & E Shepherd
Born Dec. 20th, 1786
2. Sarah Shepherd dau of C & E Shepherd
Born Sept. 5th 1788
3. James Shepherd son of " " "
Born Jan. 17th 1790
4. Eleanor Shepherd dau. of " " "
Born Sept 19th 1791
5. Mary Shepherd dau of " " "
Born May 25th 1783
6. Nancy Shepherd dau of " " "
Born Feb 22 1795
7. Charles Shepherd son of " " "
Born Nov. 26th 1796
8. Catherine Shepherd dau. of " " "
Born May 22 1801
9. John Shepherd son of " " "
Born Sept 20th 1803
10. Frances Shepherd dau. of " " "
Born Sept. 15th 1805

Transcription of Leven Wilson Shepherd Hough Family Bible

The bible belonging to Leven Wilson Shepherd Hough is in the possession of a granddaughter of Ethel Wilson Hough (Royer). The bible is huge and lives in a beautiful wooden box. The ink is fading and it is difficult to read. Following is a transcription made by the granddaughter. NOTE: includes son Leven Wilson Shepherd missing from Thomas Balch bible records; content is cut-and-pasted but text is not formatted the same . There are 13 transcribed genealogical pages. Gressley-41 18:43, 28 November 2021 (UTC) ^[7]

Leven Wilson Shepherd Hough Bible

Page 1
Elizabeth Shepherd daughter of C. & E. Shepherd Born 20th December 1786
Sarah Shepherd daughter of C. & E. Shepherd Born 5th September 1788
James Shepherd son of C. & E. Shepherd Born 17th January 1790
Charles Shepherd and Eleanor Wilson Were Married about 1784

Page 2
Eleanor Shepherd daughter of C. & E. Shepherd Born 19th September 1791
Mary Shepherd daughter of C. & E. Shepherd Born 25th May 1783
Nancy Shepherd daughter of C. & E. Shepherd Born 22th February 1795

Page 3
Charles Shepherd son of C. & E. Shepherd B 26th November 1796
Leven Wilson Shepherd son of C & E Shepherd 19th November 1798
Catherine Shepherd daughter of C & E Shepherd 22nd May 1801

Page 4
John Shepherd son of C & E Shepherd Born 6th September 1803
Frances Shepherd daughter of C & E Shepherd Born 15 September 1805

Marriage Announcement

In the Tuesday, December 9, 1823 Genius of Liberty newspaper: [MARRIED], on Tuesday last, bu the Rev. Thomas Birkby, Mr. LEVEN W. SHEPHERD to Miss CATHARINE EVERSOL, both of this [Leesburg] town. ^[8]

Census Records

• 1850 Census: Levin W Shepherd
• United States Census, 1850
• Name: Levin W Shepherd
• Event Type: Census
• Event Date: 1850
• Event Place: Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States
• Event Place (Original): Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States
• Sex: Male
• Age: 50
• Race: White
• Birth Year (Estimated): 1800
• Birthplace: Virginia, United States
• Schedule Type: 1850 Population
• House Number: 566
• Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
• Levin W Shepherd Male 50 Virginia, United States
• Catharine Shepherd Female 45 Virginia, United States
• Sally Shepherd Female 16 Alabama, United States
• Charles O Shepherd Male 23 Alabama, United States
• Levin W Shepherd Male 20 Alabama, United States
  • Source^[9]

• 1860 Census: Levin W Shepherd
• United States Census, 1860
• Name: Levin W Shepherd
• Event Type: Census
• Event Date: 1860
• Event Place: Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States
• Event Place (Original): The City Of Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States
• Sex: Male
• Age: 60
• Race: White
• Birth Year (Estimated): 1800
• Birthplace: Virginia
• Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
• Levin W Shepherd Male 60 Virginia
• Catherine Shepherd Female 59 Virginia
• Sallie Shepherd Female 24 Alabama
• Charles O Shepherd Male 31 Alabama
  • Source^[10]

Shepherd Home

For 105 years, the old Shepherd home ^[11] on East Holmes street, outstanding chiefly because of the sons who came from it, has stood as a memorial to its builder, Levin [sic] W. Shepherd, in the hands of whose family it has remained throughout the entire period. [...] Among its occupants was a scholar, the rarest and one of the most remarkable charters ever to walk the streets of Huntsville, the old-fashioned type of schoolmaster in whom Longfellow would have gloried--Captain Charles O. Shppherd [sic] [...] The builder of this home moved to Huntsville from Leesburg, Va., in the Spring of 1825. [...] Levin was born in 1797. [...] With him he brought his young wife, Catherine Eversole, of Baltimore [note she was born and living in Virginia, not Baltimore, and her parents died in Jefferson County, West Virginia (before 1801 was Berkeley County, Virginia) Gressley-41 08:51, 11 December 2021 (UTC)] [...] and one child, Virginia Anne, mother of Miss Fannie Cabaniss of this city, born the year before. A fourth person in the party was Anne Eversole, Catherine's sister, who later married William Tabler and settled on an adjoining lot on East Holmes street. [...] The Shepherd moved into the home only a few days before the birth of Charles, April 27, 1828. HIs brothers and sisters, other than Virginia Anne, who later married Charles Cabaniss [note she married Septimus Douglass Cabaniss, whose father was Charles Gressley-41 08:51, 11 December 2021 (UTC)] included John Wesley, born in 1826; Dr. Levin [sic] Wilson, born in 1831, and Sally Elizabeth, born in 1833. Prior to his death in 1861, 13 years before that of his wife, Levin [sic] [...]

This newspaper article includes more interesting stories about the family. One story is that Leven W. Shepherd's father, Charles, emigrated to the Colonies from Scotland with two brothers. My research to date does not support the this story. If there is any truth to it, I think it is more likely that Leven's grandfather or great-grandfather emigrated from Scotland, and if he arrived with two brothers, the names may be different. Leven was likely named after his uncle, his mother's brother, Leven Willson. Also, his mother had ancestors that emigrated from Scotland, so perhaps that is the origins of this family story. The story as told in the newspaper article does not appear to be true and requires more research.

Sources

1. ↑ Family data, Leven Wilson Shepherd Family Bible. The Leven Wilson Family Bible passed from Leven Wilson Shepherd Hough to daughter Ethel Wilson (Hough) Royer, to a granddaughter [verify if I can publish her info here Gressley-41 18:53, 28 November 2021 (UTC)].
2. ↑ Genius of Liberty (Leesburg, Virginia), 9 December 1823, page 3, col. 2 ; Virginia Chronicles <https://virginiachronicle.com : Accessed 11 December 2021>.
3. ↑ add source of her son Septimus Douglas Cabiness death record
4. ↑ add source for chancery cases and letters between brothers
5. ↑ Find-A-Grave: Leven Wilson Shepherd
6. ↑ Family Bible Records: Shepherd-Hough (Leesburg, VA, Thomas Balch Library, ca. 1750-ca. 1970 (M 050)), Thomas Balch Library, 08 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia, Shepherd-Hough, Located records in box 2, folder 3, pages 75-76.
7. ↑ Family data, Leven Wilson Shepherd Family Bible. The Leven Wilson Family Bible passed from Leven Wilson Shepherd Hough to daughter Ethel Wilson (Hough) Royer, to a granddaughter [verify if I can publish her info here Gressley-41 18:53, 28 November 2021 (UTC)].
8. ↑ Genius of Liberty (Leesburg, Virginia), 9 December 1823, page 3, col. 2 ; Virginia Chronicles <https://virginiachronicle.com : Accessed 11 December 2021>.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH5Q-M9Y : 19 December 2020), Levin W Shepherd, Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHD2-WT4 : 18 February 2021), Levin W Shepherd, 1860.
11. ↑ Jones, Pat. "Historic Homes: The Shepherd Home." The Huntsville Times (Huntsville, Alabama), 2 Jul 1933, page 4, cols. 4-7; Newspapers.com <https://www.newspapers.com/image/554700560 : Accessed 11 Dec 2021>.